Treasure Coast may see nursing shortage

More older people needing care combined with more workers ready to retire means Florida, including the Treasure Coast, could be short nurses in the next 10 years.

Hospital officials say they already are struggling to find enough nurses with the advanced training needed to work in critical care and other specialty units.

"The future of the nursing profession is one of the brightest of all the professions," said Gwenda Thompson, president and CEO of Workforce Solutions, the private nonprofit agency that helps connect employees and unemployed workers on the Treasure Coast. "But the thing we're trying to stress to nurses: They need to go as far with their education as they possibly can."

The existing supply of registered nurses is meeting demand, according to a report released this month by the Florida Center for Nursing. The report attributes higher-than-expected increases in the number of people earning their certification because of the recession.

"You have RN after your name: You can do so many things," said Pam Burchall, vice president of human resources for Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute.

Statewide, about 85 percent of licensed nurses are working in the field, according to the report. The Treasure Coast produced nurses at a slower rate than other portions of the state, but Thompson said most new nurses can find jobs. Officials with Keiser University, which offers nursing programs in West Palm Beach and Melbourne, said more than 90 percent of its graduates are employed, at least on a part-time basis.

Officials with Treasure Coast hospitals such as Indian River Medical Center said they have no trouble finding nurses, thanks to their partnerships with Indian River State College.

New nurses might not be enough to meet demand, though, as the population ages. The report notes with concern high numbers of registered nurses leaving the state and the profession. Nearly half of Florida's nurses also are 50 or older and expected to retire in the next 15 years.

Treasure Coast hospitals' nurses' average age is around 45, and the bad economy has prevented some older nurses from retiring, administrators said.

"The recession has changed a lot of people's perspective on retirement," said Karen Ripper, chief nursing officer for Martin Memorial Health Systems. "(But) eventually, they're going to have to retire."

And in the meantime, the recession also has forced some people to leave in search of cheaper housing or better jobs for spouses, administrators said.

Local hospitals are offering continuing education to fill the need now for critical care and other specialty nurses. But administrators also are betting the programs will make people happier and more likely to stay in their jobs, something the nursing report suggests every employer of nurses should consider to ward off shortages.

"It's one thing to need to have a job," Ripper said. "It's another thing to really love what you're doing everyday."